Thomas Brutnell on Blogger: Gateway Biotechnology Chosen to Participate in an Accelerator Program

Wednesday, August 14, 2019

Gateway Biotechnology Chosen to Participate in an Accelerator Program

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With over two decades of experience in the fields of plant genomics and developmental biology, Dr. Thomas Brutnell serves as the vice president of Gateway Biotechnology in St. Louis, Missouri. In this role, Dr. Thomas Brutnell oversees the product development of repurposed FDA-approved drugs and new drug candidates to prevent and treat noise-induced hearing loss.

Gateway Biotechnology was chosen to join the MassChallenge Boston, a zero-equity, competition-based accelerator program that offers an opportunity for startups to win more than $1 million in cash prizes.

Founded in Boston, Massachusetts, in 2009, MassChallenge supports startups with the highest potential to make a positive impact across all industries worldwide. In March 2019, MassChallenge chose more than 100 startups with focuses ranging from health care and life sciences to high tech, consumer goods, cleantech, and social impact to participate in the accelerator program.

In addition to winning cash prizes, startups will also gain access to expert mentorship, networking with corporate partners, and spacious co-working spaces at the Innovation and Design Building in Boston. During the program, the participants will partake in an evidence-based curriculum that tackles the essential stages of product development.

About Thomas Brutnell

Thomas Brutnell is a longtime presence in the biotechnology development sphere who has a focus on plant genomics and genetics. As founder of Viridis Genomics Consulting in Missouri, Thomas Brutnell provides advice to industrial and academic communities on genome engineering. He is integrating genome-wide association studies within a molecular genetics framework to better identify genome editing targets and developing new ways of deploying genome editing technologies toward the creation of novel genetic variations.

Dr. Brutnell earned his doctorate in biology at Yale University and pursued his thesis work on the topic “Epigenetic regulation of the maize transposable elements Activator and Dissociation.” Through both classical and molecular genetic analysis, his work demonstrated novel processes associated with DNA methylation that were capable of altering gene expression.

From 2000 to 2011, Dr. Brutnell served as principal investigator at the Boyce Thompson Institute at Cornell University and led efforts to develop tools for gene discovery in maize. This included mutagenizing the maize genome through use of Ac/Ds transposable elements. In addition, Thomas Brutnell directed efforts that employed microarray and RNAseq technologies in developing global gene expression platforms.